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CH/Better Fantasy Armor
Better Fantasy Armor Better Fantasy Armor (BFA) is an alternate take on the piece meal armor systems presented in GURPS Low-Tech. It is intended to make armor affordable, wearable, and protective. It gives a nod towards realism, but when it doubt, it leans more toward the heritage of D&D and the like than the strict realism of Low-Tech. It also includes simplified scaling rules that allow tiny races to usefully wear armor. Basic Concept A piece of armor is made of a material and covers one or more locations to provide a specified amount of DR. The armor's weight and cost is proportional to the DR and coverage, with different base values depending on the material. In general, lighter armors are more expensive on a per DR basis. There are a limited number of base armor materials and designs, but these can be modified by additional material types and other qualities to create a very large range of armors. Armor also has a bulk rating, which represents the thickness of the armor. Better materials are less bulky per point of DR, and smaller races can tolerate less thickness. The interaction of these factors determines how much DR a person can wear before starting to run into DX penalties. Armor Locations Table Armor locations in italics are sub-locations of the previous location, and do not need to be purchased separately if the main location is purchased. Sub-locations can also be purchased separately. For example, buying head protection at 8% of the total armor weight includes the skull, face, and neck protection, but a skullcap could be bought for 3% of total armor cost. Simplified Face Sub-Locations There are 6 sub-locations on the face: jaw, cheek, ears, nose, eyes, and brow. Each one can be separately protected at the cost and weight of 0.5% of the base armor. Eye protection gives No Peripheral Vision. Ear protection gives either Hard of Hearing or removes -2 in penalties to target the armor gaps in the head. If the face is targeted and the target is wearing partial face protection, roll 1d: if the roll is less than the number of protected locations, the armor protects. Voiders Voiders are small pieces of flexible armor worn beneath the joints of rigid armor. They're intended to prevent damage from attacks to the chinks of the rigid armor. The locations that can be protected by voiders are the shoulders, elbows, abdomen, and knees. A voider costs and weighs 1/5th of the cost and weight of a piece of armor of equivalent DR at that location. Because voiders have to be at the inside of the joint, they are effectively bulkier than their small size and nominal bulk would suggest. Increase the effective bulk of the armor by one step for every bulk category of the voider less one. Voiders are normally attached to clothing, such as an arming doublet or gambeson, that is worn under the rigid armor. However, voiders can just as easily be attached to the rigid armor itself. Voiders can also be worn under flexible armor, though there is normally little point since flexible armor doesn't have chinks. For easy reference, voiders for all the joints cost and weigh 5% of a suit of armor of equivalent DR. Armor Material Table The following table shows armor cost and weight, per point of DR, for a full suit of armor, for each of the basic materials. Armor costa and weight can be adjusted by material and other modifiers below. Any type of armor can theoretically have any amount of DR, but see the limits on bulk below. Using these two tables should be pretty simple: choose an armor type, an amount of DR, and coverage, and multiple them together. For instance, a long-sleeved mail hauberk that covers all of the arms and torso (55%) and provides DR7 costs ($400 * 7 * .55) $1540 and weighs (6 * 7 * .55) 23 lbs. A head to toe suit of iron plate that provides DR9 costs ($500 * 9) $4500 and weighs (7 * 9) 63 lbs. A horn helmet that covers the face and skull and provides DR4 costs ($150 * 4 * .08) $48 and weighs (12 * 4 * .08) ~4 lbs. Layering Armor Armor can be layered. Every underlayer must be flexible. There a -1 DX penalty for having a thick additional layer (see Armor Bulk, below) to rolls for actions performed with the affected hit location. This DX penalty does not apply if either layer has less than 3/6 coverage of the affected location. Armor Bulk Thicker armor is bulkier armor, and armor that is bulky enough imposes a DX penalty. Larger creatures can tolerate more bulk; smaller creatures can tolerate less bulk. So while a pixie is strong enough to lift enough bronze to make a suit of 2mm thick plate armor, armor that thick wouldn't give him space to bend his elbows (being roughly equivalent to armor that is 12mm thick on a human). The maximum thickness of armor that a person can wear without a DX penalty depends on their SM, and is shown on the table below. Similarly, a larger creature can wear a thicker layer of armor beneath another piece of armor without having their DX penalized. So an SM-6 pixie can only wear the thinnest of armors; a normal human can wear Heavy armor without a DX penalty and layer it over Thin armor with a -1 DX penalty; and a SM+2 Ogre Barbarian isn't penalized by jousting armor and could wear a suit of thin mail under it without penalty. Each armor type has its own maximum DR for each category of bulk. The DX penalty for wearing armor that is too bulky is -1 per level of bulk: an SM-4 leprechaun wearing jousting plate is at -3 DX. The bulk penalty only applies to locations that are at least 50% covered by armor, just like the layering penalty. Joints and Heavy Armor Anyone who wears the thickest safe armor on their joints (shoulders, elbows, knees, abdomen, and neck) suffers a -1 penalty to DX, which can be mitigated by leaving big gaps in the armor, such attacks through the armor chinks in those locations get at +2 bonus. Wearing thick armor on the hands gives the Ham-Fisted 1 and Bad Grip 1 disadvantages. Armor Modifiers Armor modifiers can define the armor's workmanship, base material, or some other characteristic of the armor. All workmanship modifiers are mutually exclusive with each other, and all base material modifiers are also mutually exclusive with each other. All other modifiers can be combined with each other except as specifically noted. Generic :Fine: Fine armor is well-made and only fits the wearer. There is an additional -1 penalty to target armor gaps. Workmanship modifier. +3 CF, -20% to weight. :Very Fine: Very Fine armor is made by master smiths and only fits the wearer. There is an additional -1 penalty to target armor gaps. Workmanship modifier. +14 CF, -30% to weight. :Cheap: Cheap armor is either mass-produced or made by inferior craftsman or from inferior materials. There is a +2 bonus to target armor gaps. Workmanship modifier. -0.4 CF, +25% to weight. :Weak Limbs: Historically, armorers uses thinner pieces on the backs and interiors of the arms and legs, which were harder to hit and needed less protection. Any full suit can have weak limbs, which halve the DR on attacks against the legs and arms from the back. -11% to armor cost and weight. :Weak Back: Historically, armorers also used thinner armor on the back of a breastplate than the front. Any armor with full torso coverage can have a weak back, which halves the DR of the back of the torso. -8% to armor cost and weight. :Reinforced Vitals: The thickest part of any armor is usually over the heart, lungs, and kidneys - basically, the vitals in GURPS terms. Reinforced vitals doubles armor DR against attacks to the vitals. +3% to armor cost and weight. Textile This is armor made from multiple layers of quilted cloth, or at higher tech levels, foamed rubber. :Silk: Armor made from silk is lighter and more resistance to piercing, impaling, and cutting damage. Gives +1 DR vs cu, imp, and pi damage (though textile armor starts with -2 DR vs imp and pi). Material Modifier. +4 CF, -10% to weight. :Spider Silk: Spidersilk is stronger than normal silk, but harder to farm. Gives +1 DR vs cu, imp, and pi damage (though textile armor starts with -2 DR vs imp and pi). Material Modifier. +9 CF, -30% to weight. :Giant Spider Silk: The silk made from the webs of giant spiders is stronger than steel, though still flexible. Gives +1 DR vs cu, imp, and pi damage (though textile armor starts with -2 DR vs imp and pi) and reduce armor thickness by one category. Material Modifier. +29 CF, -50% to weight. :Meditative: Grants the wearer +1 Chi Talent. +3 CF. :TL8 Smart Foam: Shear thickening liquids normally seem to be a flexible foam, but become rigid in response to a sudden impact. Quadruples DR against crushing damage. Material Modifier. +9 CF. Hide This is armor made from the tanned hides of thick-skinned creatures such as deer, buffalo, bear, or elephant. :Layered Leather/Hardened Leather: Multiple thin layers of leather are heavier but stronger than a single thicker layer. Alternately, a single thick piece of layer can be hardened by boiling. Either way, these treatments remove the DR penalty against piercing and impaling attacks as well as the Flexible quality. Material Modifier. +0.1 CF, +25% to weight. :Quality Leather: The hides of certain exotic creatures (giraffes, sharks, trigers, reptile men) are stronger than the hides of creatures normally used to make leather, and makes for better armor. Material Modifier. +2 CF, -30% to weight. :Quality Layered/Hardened Leather: Quality leather can be layered or hardened, for armor that is nearly as strong as steel but still organic. Quality layered/hardened leather is not flexible and has no DR penalty. Material Modifier. +3.3 CF, -15% to weight. :Dragonhide: The skin of a dragon's wings can be used to make strong and light weight leather armor without the need for hardening or layering. Dragonhide has no DR penalty, triple DR against fire and heat attacks, and reduces its thickness by one category. Exotic variants do not cost any more but give triple DR against other types of elemental damage - most commonly cold, but acid and lightning resistant versions exist. Material Modifier. +49 CF, -50% to weight. :Elder Dragonhide: The skin of dragon's wings becomes stronger as the dragon ages. Elder Dragonhide has no DR penalty, triple DR against fire and heat attacks, and reduces its thickness by one category. Exotic variants do not cost any more but give triple DR against other types of elemental damage - most commonly cold, but acid and lightning resistant versions exist. Material Modifier. +53 CF, -60% to weight. :Ancient Dragonhide: The skin of an ancient dragon's wings produces a leather that it stronger and lighter than steel. Dragonhide has no DR penalty, triple DR against fire and heat attacks, and reduces its thickness by one category. Exotic variants do not cost any more but give triple DR against other types of elemental damage - most commonly cold, but acid and lightning resistant versions exist. Material Modifier. +57 CF, -70% to weight. Bone Bones of dead animals can be tied together to form simple armor. :Horn: Armor made from sculpted animal horns, tusks, or shells is reasonable strong and cheap, but bulky. Remove the semi-ablative quality of bone armor. Material Modifier. +0.5 CF, -20% to weight. :Dragonbone: The bones of a dragon are much stronger than normal animal bones and make excellent armor. Remove the semi-ablative quality of bone armor and reduce the bulk by one category. Dragonbone provides triple DR against fire and heat attacks just like dragonhide. Material Modifier. +29 CF, -50% to weight. :Elder Dragonbone: As dragons age, their bones becomes even stronger and more valuable for armor. Remove the semi-ablative quality of bone armor and reduce the bulk by one category. Dragonbone provides triple DR against fire and heat attacks just like dragonhide. Material Modifier. +33 CF, -60% to weight. :Ancient Dragonbone: The bones of an ancient dragon are stronger than steel. Remove the semi-ablative quality of bone armor and reduce the bulk by one category. Dragonbone provides triple DR against fire and heat attacks just like dragonhide. Material Modifier. +37 CF, -70% to weight. :TL8 Athletic Equipment: Hard plastic over foam padding is inexpensive, bulky, and heavy on a per DR basis. Remove the semi-ablative quality of bone armor and double DR against crushing damage. Material Modifier. +1.5 CF, -25% to weight, Wood :Straw: Straw mat armor is cheap but doesn't provide much protection. Add Flexible to the armor qualities, and increase the bulk by one category. Material Modifier. -0.4 CF. :Paper or Barkcloth: Layered paper is bulky but reasonably strong. Material Modifier. +0.5 CF, -20% to weight. :Cane: Flexible cane rods can be woven into a weak protective garment. Cane armor is heavy, bulky, and tends to come apart quickly under attacks. Add semi-ablative to its qualities. Material Modifier. -0.3 CF, -10% to weight. :Ironwood: Elves, druids, and faeries use this remarkable wood to create armor nearly as light and protective as steel plate, at nearly the same cost. Material Modifier. +9 CF, -40% to weight. Scale Scale armor consists of small plates of overlapping metal, often attached to a backing material of cloth or thin leather. Cloth armors with some kind of metal reinforcement such as ring mail or penny-plate are examples of cheap scale armor. :Star Scale: Making the scales in scale armor out of a star shape allows them to withstand impact better. Remove the DR penalty against crushing attacks. +0.4 CF, no change to weight. :Brigandine: Advanced scale armor puts the scales inside a cloth or leather framework and tailors and overlaps them more efficiently than standard scale. Remove the DR penalty against crushing attacks. +1.25 CF, -20% to weight. :Dragonscale: The heavy body scales of a dragon are stronger and lighter than steel. Removes the DR penalty against crushing attacks, reduces the bulk of the armor by one category, and provides triple DR against heat and fire attacks just like dragonhide. Material Modifier. +19 CF, -40% to weight. :Elder Dragonscale: As dragons age, their scales become even stronger. Removes the DR penalty against crushing attacks, reduces the bulk of the armor by one category, and provides triple DR against heat and fire attacks just like dragonhide. Material Modifier. +23 CF, -50% to weight. :Ancient Dragonscale: The scales of ancient dragons provide impressive protection for very little weight. Removes the DR penalty against crushing attacks, reduces the bulk of the armor by one category, and provides triple DR against heat and fire attacks just like dragonhide. Material Modifier. +27 CF, -60% to weight. :Adamant (Essential Stone): Lamellar armor made from most types of stone is heavier and more costly than any other type of armor at the same thickness, and thus no one actually wears it. Lamellar armor made from essential stone is lighter that steel for the same protection, and is worn by elite warriors of some mining cultures. Removes the DR penalty against crushing attacks, reduces the bulk of the armor by one category, counts as Hardened (2) against armor piercing attacks, and provides double DR against impaling and piercing attacks. Material Modifier. +14 CF, -35% to weight. Mail Mail consists of interlocking rings of metal. Some mail uses small rings of thin wire, while other mail uses larger rings of heavier wire. :Banded: Weaving leather bands through the alternate rows of mail makes the armor less flexible and more resistant to crushing damage, in exchange for a notable increase in weight. Remove the -2 DR penalty versus cr and the flexible quality. +0.1 CF, +50% to weight. :Mail and Plates: Mail can be reinforced by small overlapping plates of metal, similar to scale. Reduce the DR penalty versus cr to -1 and remove the flexible quality. +0.2 CF, +25% to weight. :Elven: Advanced elven techniques make mail flexible but still resistant to crushing damage. Remove the DR penalty versus cr. +3 CF. :Mithril: The silver moon metal is nearly as strong as orichalcum, but cannot be forged into large plates, only wire. Reduces the armor bulk by one category. Material Modifier. +29 CF, -20% to weight. Textile, Hide, or Mail :Athletic: The encumbrance of the armor doesn't penalize Acrobatics, Jumping, Running, or Swimming rolls, nor attacks with Fencing weapons. +5 CF. :Thieves: The encumbrance of the armor doesn't penalize Climbing or Stealth rolls. +3 CF. Plate Plate consists of solid pieces of iron or steel worn over thin cloth. Advanced plate uses sliding rivets to attach parts together at the joints of the body. :Spiked: As per DF1 p 27. +2 CF. :Segmented Plate: Less advanced metal workers cannot forge large plates, and must carefully construct armor from smaller pieces riveted together. Unlike scale, there is no underlying textile or hide layer. -0.2 CF, +15% to weight. :Dwarven: Dwarven techniques provide articulation of even the thickest armor in exchange for increased weight. Reduces the armor bulk by one category. Incompatible with the Cheap or Segmented Plate modifiers. +1 CF, +5% to weight. :Duplex Plate: Layering plates of hardened metal over similar plates of less brittle metal can dramatically increase resistance to armor piercing weapons, but the process is extremely difficult. Gives Hardened (2) enhancement. Not compatible with Hardened Metal. +8 CF, -10% to weight. :Orichalcum: Essential metal makes excellent armor, but cannot normally be made in large plates and must be combined with the Segmented Plate modifier. Extremely skilled smiths can harden it, add fluting, and tailor it so well that an impenetrable harness weighs little more than heavy clothing. Reduces the armor bulk by one category. Material Modifier. +29 CF, -35% to weight. :Celestial Steel: Armor made from the metal of the gods glows with an inner light and resists the forces of corruption. The glow eliminates darkness in a 3 hex radius (as a Daylight Continual Light Spell). Reduces the armor bulk by one category, and provides its full DR (Cosmic Irresistable) against any attack made by Unholy, Demonic, or Undead powers. Material Modifier. +29 CF, -20% to weight. Scale or Plate :Fluting: Carefully designed fluting, ribs, bosses, and vertical ribs can strengthen key components of armor, making it effectively stronger. Armor made from dragon parts cannot be fluted. +4 CF, -10% weight. Scale, Mail, or Plate :Copper: Metal armor can be made from copper, which is an inferior metal for the purpose. No one does this if they have access to iron or more exotic alternatives. Material Modifier. +3 CF, +20% weight. Low-Tech suggests +0 CF for copper, but doing so means that copper scale is 1/3rd the cost of copper by weight, which doesn't seem right. :Bronze: Metal armor can also be made from bronze, which is as good a choice as iron. Material Modifier. +3 CF. Assume in DF settings that tin is plentiful. In historical games set outside Britain, bronze should probably be +9 or +14 CF. :Hardened Metal: Any metal armor can be made from hardened metal, produced from master mages, dwarven smiths, gnomish factories, or similar savants. Not compatible with Duplex Plate. +4 CF, -10% weight. :Meteoric Iron: Armor made from sky-metal is resistant to magic. No spell can affect it, and counts as cosmic DR against spells normally ignore armor (such as a wizard's Mystic Bolt or Deathtouch) if the spell has to pass through the armor (ie, a meteoric iron helmet won't prevent a Deathtouch to the unarmored hand, but it will act as armor against a Mystic Bolt targeted at the face). Material Modifier. +19 CF. :Soulsteel: Armors made from the tortured souls of the damned are disturbing, but are a cheap and effective armor for the champions of the unholy. Provides the wearer with Resistance to Holy Powers +8 and Frightens Animals. Material Modifier. +3 CF, -20% to weight. :TL8 Aluminum: Aluminum is light, cheap, and bulky. It really isn't suitable as armor but light weight reproductions of ancient armor are popular as show pieces at Renaissance Faires. Increase armor bulk by two categories. Material Modifier. -0.6 CF, -25% to weight. :TL8 Steel: Modern steel foundries produce Krupp Cemented Armor and other, sophisticated alloy face-hardened armors in industrial lots more cheaply than fantasy smiths can imagine. Use the TL8 steel armor lists and treat the armor as Hardened (2) against armor-piercing attacks. Material Modifier. Not compatible with Hardened Metal or Duplex Plate. :TL8 Titanium Steel: Titanium-steel alloy is expensive and difficult to work, but provides possibly the ultimate protection for metal armor. As a bonus, the armor is non-ferrous, non-conducting, and won't create sparks when hit by other metals. Gives Hardened (2) enhancement. Material Modifier. +4 CF, -30% to weight. Not compatible with Hardened Metal or Duplex Plate. TL8 Ballistic Cloth Modern armor is made of quilts of advanced polymers, similar to textile armor but much stronger. :2nd generation: Early kevlar materials degrade under bullet fire, but are cheaper. Material Modifier. -0.6 CF, +10% weight. Adds the semi-ablative modifier. TL8 Ballistic Ceramic Metal reinforced ceramic plates are often used to reinforce ballistic cloth armors. The ceramic resists penetration well, but tends to degrade rapidly and should be replaced after taking hits. TL8 Ballistic Scalar (Dragonscale) Modern scale armor is made of small scales of a titanium-ceramic matrix sandwiched between two layers of quilted ballistic cloth. The glues used to attach the scales to the ballistic cloth degrade when subjected to extremes of heat and cold, and the armor gains the ablative modifier. TL8 Ballistic Plastic (Visors) Transparent plastics can be used to form visors and bullet resistant goggles. In theory, the same material could be used to form a plate harness. In practice, the resulting armor would be as heavy as steel plate and more costly, so this is only done if translucency is an advantage for some reason. TL8 KSF Brigantine Zombie apocalypse survivalists and transdimensional travelers handmake this armor by gluing rubber foam padding to plates of modern steel and then riveting the pieces to a thin kevlar suit similar to an Olympic fencing uniform. The resulting armor protects against a range of threats, especially animal attacks, though is worse than modern ballistic armors against bullets. Treat as plate for determining bulk. Increase effective DR by 50% against cutting and piercing attacks and treat as Hardened (2) against armor piercing attacks. :Smart Foam: Rubber foam soaked in sheer thickening fluids is a much more expensive padding, but provides much better protection against crushing attacks. Increase effective DR by 50% against crushing attacks. +0.75 CF. :Titanium-Steel Alloy plates: Titanium-steel alloy plates are lighter but more expensive. +3 CF, -25% to weight. Off The Shelf :Ballistic Glasses (TL8): Fairly standard eye protection made with transparent ballistic plastic; 1/6 chance to protect against a Face hit. These do not cause No Peripheral Vision. Prescription versions can be had at +2 CF. DR 6, $30, 0.2 lbs, LC4. :Ballistic Visor, Heavy (TL8): Heavier eye protection for combat zones, protecting brow, eyes, cheeks, and nose. 4/6 chance to protect against a face hit. This does cause No Peripheral Vision; prescription glasses can be worn underneath. DR 10, $200, 1.4 lbs, LC4. :Ballistic Helmet w/Visor (TL8): Molded ballistic plastic skull and face protection. Only the visor is transparent. Causes No Peripheral Vision and Hard of Hearing; versions with integrated electronic ear protectors are available that instead remove Hard of Hearing and cost +1 CF. DR 10, $600, 4.2 lbs, LC4. :Kevlar Vest (TL8): A tight-weave layered fiber vest that provides limited protection against heavy firearms but reasonable protection against hand weapons. Covers the torso location. Can be worn under a shirt, or disguised as normal clothing for +1 CF. DR 5* (10 vs. cutting/piercing), $800, 6.4 lbs, LC4. :Light Ballistic Scalar Vest (TL8): A limited production armor vest, meant for corrections officers and others who had to deal with knife attacks and improvised, low-caliber small arms. Easily concealable under clothes. Discontinued, but samples can be found on the secondary market. DR 5 (1 vs crushing). $1600, 2.4 lbs, LC4.